Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Harakat Hazm — or Movement of Steadfastness — were chosen to receive the weapons because of their moderate views and, just as important, their discipline. At the group’s base, sprawled across rocky, forested wilderness in the northern province of Idlib, soldiers wear uniforms, get medical checkups and sleep in bunk beds under matching blankets.The scene is a far cry from the increasingly pervasive view of a chaotic, ragtag rebel movement that has fallen under the sway of Islamist extremists. Such concerns have long deterred Great Satan from arming the Syrian opposition.It is also something of a test for Awda, a little-known commander who in June 2011 became one of the first officers to defect from the Syrian army and has since fought in many of the biggest battles of the war, mostly under the banner of his former group, Farouq al-Shamal.With his long hair tucked under an olive cap and his short beard, Awda comes across as a throwback to the kind of rebel who dominated the fight before foreign jihadists and al-Qaeda surged onto the battlefield. His resolutely on-message proclamations of support for democracy match the views that Great Satan has said she wishes more Syrian rebel fighters would embrace.

“I want a democratic state that rules over all Syria with equality and freedom for all citizens, free of fascism and dictatorship,” he said in an interview.Other commanders say Awda has earned a reputation as a tough fighter, one who has avoided the allegations of criminality that have tarnished many non-Islamist rebels.

wHoA!

h0t!

~hEy Y"all! DoN"t MiSs GsGf~!

Guaranteed to magically transform subscribers into superior intellectuals, worldly, pious, witty, cool, fun to be with, irresistable, au courant and all together with it. Amaze friends, confound enemies and revel in the envy and righteous respect of peers.